Fire
by Kalina Rhaun
Summary: A new twist will soon appear in the life of the Gundam pilots...
1. Intro

Fire. Since man first discovered how to control it, it has been, throughout history, a blessing, a protector of life and shield against the coldness of the world. At the same time, fire has also been a bringer of death, a passionate killer, with no conscious. It does not spare the innocent. It feels no warmth for the children nor pity for the elderly. It is a bright light that sweeps through; and behind it, leaves nothing but ashes…

Many things in this world that are viewed as blessings are like Fire, entrancing and beautiful to the eye or to the spirit. Offering riches, or freedom. Like the Gundams, weapons of destruction who sweep through and slaughter those in their path without a thought about what or whom their actions are affecting. They don't see soldiers who have been brainwashed; or the ones that are little more than children fresh out of school and filled with zeal for their country and fellow human beings. No. These machines, and I speak not of the metal casings, but whom is within and controlling them, these monsters would slaughter millions and the world looks on, many cheering.

Well, I will fix that. I know the truth. I spent my childhood playing with fire, and my adulthood thus far has been busy with putting it out. That is what I must do with this new fire called Gundams. I am not alone. Many of us are waiting and our chance is coming soon to present itself to us. But for now, we wait…


	2. Chapter 1

**Beep, Beep, and Beep "The Fire Department is needed to respond to a fire on Ridge Ave. All personnel report to the station for further information." **

Adrenaline pumping, firefighters pulled on their bunker gear and readied themselves for what could be anything from a vehicle fire to almost any number ofscenarios. Despite the commotion going on as firefighters arrived and geared up, and engines began to pull out of the station as all the seats on the apparatus were occupied, there was still calmness in the air. The sort of calmness that exists in groups where they have been through many things together and operate well as a team.

Upon reaching the scene of the fire, they discovered that it was a small kitchen fire. Two of the firefighters suppressed the fire with extinguishers and we all checked to make sure that the fire was not smoldering between the walls. After the scene was declared clear, the embarrassed occupant of the residence thanked them repeatedly and promised to be more careful in the future.

The engines then returned to the station. As everyone climbed out of their bunker gear, they felt mixed emotions- relief that the fire was out and there were no injuries to anyone, but at the same time disappointment. It isn't easy to go from zero to sixty and the suddenly have nothing to with that energy. This is just an average day in the world of a firefighter. Welcome to my life. My station is a combination station, made up of fourteen career firefighters and seven volunteers. My name is Kalina Rhaun. I am twenty years old and have been firefighting since I was seventeen. I love it. I have always been fascinated with fire, now it is my world.

There are six women on this department and fifteen men. Among those women, only two are career. I am one of them. It was not easy getting onto the department, even harder to truly become one of them, but sometime in the last two years, I managed to. I've never had a family, never been a part of one. I hadn't planned to be either, but a strange thing happened to me. As I became part of the department, something changed. Now my family is twenty-strong. I have five sisters and fifteen brothers. They have helped me to forget my past. If they ever find out, I am not sure what would happen. But for now, I am satisfied to rest and pretend to forget. I know that it won't last, but for now, I will pretend to be a normal girl and part of a normal family, with a normal past. For now- **Beep, beep, beep "The fire department is needed to respond…" **Here we go again…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A girl walks into a café and steps up to the counter. Smiling to the young girl waiting to take her order, she requests a cinnamon mocha. The child, the nameplate on her shirt identifying her as Anna, had already begun making the mocha the moment she had seen the well-liked customer enter the premises. As she adds the whip cream topping to the mocha and slides it across the counter, she waves her hand to the girl, signaling that this one is "on the house".

Smiling her gratitude, the girl waits until Anna turns her back and slides a five-dollar bill into the jar on the counter marked "tips". Then, taking her warm drink, she makes her way to a seat in the corner with a window that provides an excellent view of the mountains. Blowing gently on her mocha, she pulls out a small pad of paper and studies it intently. Glancing up briefly to study a man entering through the door, she then turns her attention back to the pad of paper.

Unconcerned by the scrutiny, the man calmly strides up to the counter and orders a plain black coffee. He pays for it, and then walks over to the already occupied table by the window. Without glancing up from the papers, the girl quietly says, "Sit". The man rolls his eyes at her manners and plops down on the seat with a sigh. "In all the training you have been to lately, they have obviously neglected anything to do with etiquette… Kalina, are you listening to me?"

"No Ricky, these papers are so fascinating that I have been staring at them for the whole five minutes that it took you to meander your lazy butt over here…Of course I am listening. Now, why did you call me here? I hope it isn't just to give me another lecture about my perfect manners…" The girl, currently called Kalina, replies with a sarcastic roll of her eyes. "Alright, cut the sarcasm. I have good news for you, but if you are going to be rude, I will take it elsewhere…" He responds, only half-joking.

Knowing he is partially serious, she decides to be serious as well. "Ok, you have my apologies. It wont happen again." She says this with a straight face causing Ricky to almost spit out his coffee upon hearing this new outright blasphemy of the truth. "Yeah, and that will be true on the day that the gundams actually manage to bring peace to the colonies!" He smiles at her then continues, "Ok, so you may be happy to know that I have tracked down the interesting news that you do have some family out there. Apparently, somewhere on earth or the colonies, you have a younger brother. That is, if he is still alive with the war going on and all. Congratulations."

Outright shocked by this new piece of information, the normally quick-witted Kalina is shocked into silence. Not one to let an opportunity slip by, Ricky decides to try his luck with, "So, since I was so successful in gaining this impossible to track down piece of information, can I take a couple of paid weeks off?" This promptly launches her back into reality as she automatically responds with, "Since you DID find this information, it is hardly impossible to track down. Furthermore, you just got back from a paid vacation a month ago. You know that we are short staffed right now, and you are just TOO valuable for me to let go of…" The last bit was laced with obvious sarcasm. "Wow, no need to get personal there. If you can't afford to manage life without me, all you have to do is say so…" Rolling her eyes, she considers if this one is even worth responding to. Taking the bait, she replies with, "Ok, smart aleck, since I value you so much, you can continue your search by tracking my brother down. Don't worry, I will, of course, pay you well for it." He lets out a long sigh, considering if he should take the assignment or not, but already knowing that he will. He's just about to give his acceptance, when simultaneous beeps fill the air. They glance at each other just as the message comes out over their pagers: **The Fire Department is needed to respond to a multiple fires and a hazardous materials release at the military installation. All personnel report to station.**

Glancing at Ricky, Kalina mutters, "It's those Gundams again. I'll bet you lunch tomorrow." He coughs and responds with, "You know I am not that stupid. Of course it's those guys again." After a moment, as they are heading out the door he continues with, "I hope that you do realize that if it weren't for them, we would be eternally bored and most likely out of a job as well." Frowning at the evident truth in that statement, Kalina quietly says, "Ricky… Shut up…"


End file.
